LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on LPLA. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.30.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $4.63 on Tuesday, hitting $219.71. 474,783 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 708,590. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $289.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.46.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 15.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $30,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.